The 20th Commonwealth Games recently took place in Glasgow, with more than 4,500 athletes from 71 countries and territories competing in 17 sports over the course of 11 days.
But while much of the world's attention was focused on the performance of the athletes and the medals won, behind the scenes a sustainable procurement policy meant that small-scale farmers and workers in the developing world also had cause to celebrate, thanks to the decision to source all bananas, tea, coffee and sugar served at the games as Fairtrade.
By sourcing sustainable fare wherever possible for athletes, officials, workers and visitors to the Games, including local, free range, Fairtrade and other certified produce, Glasgow 2014 built on the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, where a pioneering food vision set new sustainability standards for the catering industry.
It also reinforced Glasgow's commitment to the fair trade movement, which was recognised in 2006 when it was declared a Fairtrade City.
As a voluntary association, the modern Commonwealth relies on a spirit of cooperation between countries, and one of its guiding principles is to provide support to vulnerable nations, so that they can build resilience for the future. So it seems fitting that as well as supporting Scottish producers with a pledge to source locally where possible, the Glasgow 2014 Games organisers showed support for small-scale farmers in developing nations, both in the Commonwealth and beyond, by sourcing Fairtrade.
Six-time Olympic champion and world record-holding sprinter, Usain Bolt was perhaps the most high-profile athlete at the Glasgow 2014 Games. In Bolt's native Jamaica, about 4,500 sugar cane farmers belong to Fairtrade certified smallholder associations, which are democratically run and independently audited against Fairtrade's economic, social and environmental standards.
Through certification, these Jamaican sugar cane farmers have benefitted from improved access to international markets and for every tonne of sugar they sell on Fairtrade terms, they earn a $60 premium to invest in productivity improvements or social projects of their choice, such as schools, new roads or clean drinking water.
The first sales of Jamaican sugar on Fairtrade terms only took place in 2013, so the first premiums are yet to be invested but there are already signs that certification has led to the revival of active, democratic associations, the creation of environmental plans, and increased productivity. At North St. Elizabeth Cane Farmer's Association, for example, sugar cane delivered to the mill has increased from 300 tonnes per day to 1,000 tonnes per day.
There are farmers and agricultural workers in more than two dozen Commonwealth countries that benefit from the Fairtrade system, ranging from banana farmers in the Windward Islands to tea pickers in Kenya, and from coffee growers in Tanzania to cocoa farmers in Ghana. In addition to Jamaica, Fairtrade certifies sugar cane farmer associations in a further 10 Commonwealth countries: Belize, Fiji, Guyana, India, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia.
The Commonwealth Games' show of support for Fairtrade came at a crucial time for these sugar farmers, and others in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Last summer, the EU and UK agreed a reform to the Common Agricultural Policy that will end the limit on the amount of domestically produced sugar beet that can be sold, a move that threatens the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of ACP sugar farmers.
While the CAP reform does not come into effect until 2017, its impact is already being felt in the market. Sugar prices in the EU have dropped by around 30% since January. Some of these price reductions are passed on to the EU consumer, while others boost the profits of supermarkets and food companies. Ultimately, they are paid for by the farmers.
The decision to source Fairtrade produce for the Commonwealth Games will not solve the problems facing sugar farmers, but it provides an important and appropriate platform from which to consider our historic obligations to farmers and workers across the Commonwealth and beyond, who are disadvantaged by the terms of conventional trade and rely on exports to the EU.
Fairtrade works to secure a fair deal for disadvantaged farmers and workers in more than 70 countries, including the Commonwealth nations of Belize, Cameroon, Dominica, Fiji, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, St Vincent, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
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